Posted by John Swensen on September 02, 2000 at 13:08:00:
In Reply to: Yamaha Silent Brass posted by T. J. Ricer on September 02, 2000 at 01:23:13:
The Silent Brass for tuba is very heavy, makes the horn dramatically top-heavy, and plays very stuffy, altering the intonation and response of a significant portion of the range (at least, on a 5/4 CC tuba). You can't lay the horn across your lap with the mute in place, so draining slides may be a problem. The mute is, pretty quiet, but the electronics sound horrible, audibly breaking up at only moderate levels, using a variety of headphones.
I think you could do better by rolling up a heavy blanket and stuffing it in the bell; at least that would not ding the bell when the attachment straps pulled loose.